13 January: The Independent reports that George Osborne’s father-in-law stands accused of a conflict of interest as he is an adviser to William Hague while also being on the payroll of a Japanese high speed train manufacturer which could potentially gain from the building of the HS2 rail link

Yesterday’s revelation follows concerns about the business interests of a string of Conservative peers. Last week, Tory donor and academies sponsor John Nash was given a peerage and a job as education minister, while another donor, Lord Popat, was made a government whip. Lord Sassoon, who quit his job as a Treasury minister last month, is to start a job with the City firm Jardine Matheson this week, without undergoing the traditional three-month “gardening leave”. This has been cleared by officials.